Aid for use in sitting down or standing up

ABSTRACT

An aid for use by a crippled person in sitting down and standing up. In a preferred embodiment, the aid has generally J-shaped legs on opposite side thereof, each including an upper branch and a lower branch. The lower branches are connected together by connecting means which may be located in different places relative to the lower branches. The aid is particularly useful in assisting a crippled person in sitting down on a bed or standing up from a seated position on a bed, but the aid can be used for assistance in sitting down and standing up relative to articles other than beds. By using the aid, a person need not call a nurse or attendant to help him.

United States Patent 1 Wilson June 19, 1973 [54] AID FOR USE INSITTING DOWN OR 2,734,554 2/1956 Ries 135/45 A STANDING UP 2,565,257 8/1951 Nichol 297 5 ux [76] Inventor: Allen B. Wilson, 2920 N.E. 19th St.,

Pompano Beach 33062 Prurzary ExamznerDav1d J. W1ll1amowsky Assistant Examiner-Conrad L. Berman Filed! J 1972 Att0rney-John H. Oltman and Hiram P. Settle Jr. [2]] Appl. No.: 219,044

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 135/45, 135/45 A, 5/327, A i f use b a crippled person in sitting down and 297/5, 5/81 R, 5/92 standing up. In a preferred embodiment, the aid has [51] Int. Cl. A451) 1/00 generally J Shaped legs on opposite Side th f each [58] Field of Search 135/45 A, 49; including an upper branch and a lower branch The 5/327 81 R; 297/294 447, 6 lower branches are connected together by connecting means which may be located in different places relative [56] References Cited to the lower branches. The aid is particularly useful in UNITED STATES PATENTS assisting a crippled person in sitting down on a bed or 2,672,916 3 1954 Kenney 297/287 Standing "P from a Seawd Position on a bed, but the aid 2,522,394 9/1950 can be used for assistance in sitting down and standing 3,237,215 3/1966 up relative to articles other than beds. By using the aid, 1,757,734 5/l930 a person need not call a nurse or attendant to help him.

503,105 8/1893 2,792,052 8/1953 Johannesen 135/45 A 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures I l Y Patented June 19, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

Patented June 19, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PIC-3.7

AID FOR USE IN SITTING DOWN OR STANDING UP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many articles for aiding crippled persons have been provided. To name a few, there are crutches, walkers, wheelchairs and canes. However, there remains a need for an aid which is particularly adapted for use by a crippled person as he lowers himself onto a seat such as a bed, chair commode or the like, and also as he rises from a seated position. Even with the aid of known devices, a crippled person still often encounters difficulty in the operations of sitting down and standing up.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides an aide with which a crippled person who has the use of his or her arms can readily obtain leverage with the arms to assit him or her in sitting down or standing up. In a preferred embodiment, the aid includes generally J-shaped legs which each lie on a lower side and have the open end thereof facing toward the rear of the device. Thus, the legs have generally horizontal upper branches and lower branches. The lower branches have connecting means between them, and the connecting means may be located in different positions between the front and back of the device, depending upon the purpose of the device.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an aid which is particularly adapted for assisting crippled persons in sitting down and standing up.

Another object of the invention is to provide an aid for sitting down and standing up wherein the device will fit with a bed, chair, commode or other article relative to which the crippled person is sitting down or standing up.

A further object of the invention is to make the aid support the weight of the crippled person without tipping over.

Still another object of the invention is to help a crippled person or invalid to be more independent in sitting down and standing up.

A further object of the invention is to make the aid sturdy and yet capable of being taken apart for packaging, shipment and storage.

Still another, and no less important, object of the invention is to make the aid economical, rugged and reliable in use.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

ON THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an aid in accordance with one embodiment of the invention as it is positioned relative to a bed for assisting a crippled person in sitting down or standing up relative to the bed;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the aid showing the legs thereof in different positions of adjustment;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through a connecting means of the aid as viewed along line 3--3 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view through the connecting means taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an aid in accordance with another embodiment of the invention as it is positioned relative to a commode to assist a crippled person in sitting down or standing up relative to the commode;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the aid of FIG. 5 in different positions of adjustment;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view through a connecting means of the aid taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view through the connecting means taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWINGS Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 4, the aid 10 shown there is particularly adapted for use in connection with a bed as shown at 12 in dashed lines in FIG. 1. The aid 10 has two generally upright legs 14 and 16. Leg 14 includes a horizontal lower branch 18, a horizontal upper branch 20, and an upright branch 22. Leg 16 includes a horizontal lower branch 24, a horizontal upper branch 26, and an upright branch 28. It may be seen that the J-shaped legs 14 and 16 both lie on their bottom side with the open end 30 and 32 facing toward the rear of the device. Leg 14 stands on branch 18 and leg 16 stands on branch 24. The upper branches are shorter than the lower branches, the upper branches preferably being about one-half as long as the lower branches.

The lower branches 18 and 24 have connecting means 34 between them. In this embodiment, the connecting means is extensible to permit adjustment of the positions of the legs 14 and 16. The connecting means 34 comprises a right angle extension 36 from branch 18, a right angle extension 38 from branch 24, and a stiffener 40 in the form of a rod which is received inside extensions 36 and 38. Extensions 36 and 38 respectively have slots 42 and 44 therein on their upper sides, and these slots extend lengthwise along the extensions. The slots 42 and 44 respectively receive clamps 46 and 48 which are in the form of wing nuts in this embodiment. The nuts 46 and 48 have threaded studs 50 and 52 which screw into threaded bores 54 and 56 in the stiffener rod 40. The clamps 46 and 48 can be screwed down into the bores 54 and 56 to clamp the extensions 36 and 38 in fixed positions of adjustment relative to the stiffener rod 40. Thus, when the clamps 46 and 48 are loosened, the legs 14 and 16 may be separated from the positions shown in FIGS. 1-3 to the positions shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2. The clamps 46 and 48 may then again be tightened to hold the legs 14 and 16 in the desired positions. The slots 42 and 44 allow movement of the extensions 36 and 38 relative to the clamps 46 and 48.

It will be understood that the connecting means 34 may be a continuous extension of the branches 18 and 24 where it is not desired to make the legs 14 and I6 adjustable. In this case, the legs 14 and 16 and the connecting means 34 may be a single piece of material. It is preferred that the material of the legs and the extension or extensions (except rod 40) be metal tube stock, but other materials are possible.

A crippled person can readily use the aid in sitting down or standing up relative to the bed 12. The aid 10 fits the bed as shown in FIG. 1. Branches l8 and 24 and connecting means 34 are on the floor under the bed as shown. Upper branches 20 and 26 are separated from branches l8 and 24 by a distance slightly greater than the height of the bed so that upper branches 20 and 26 extend over the top surface of the bed spaced slightly above the top surface; say, about 6 inches above that top surface, by way of example. In order to use the aid in sitting down, a person stands between the legs 14 and 16, and places his or her hands on the upper branches 20 and 26. The person then leans on the branches 20 and 26 to support his weight while lowering himself into a sitting position on the bed 12. The aid 10 is then pushed out from under the bed so that it clears the feet and legs of the person, and he is then free to lie on the bed.

In order to use the aid 10 in standing up, the person first gets into a sitting position, and then pulls the aid 10 under the bed so that the branches 20 and 26 straddle his upper body and the branches 22 and 28 straddle his legs. He places his hands on the upper branches 20 and 26 and pushes downward to raise himself to a standing position. The aid supports his weight, or at least a major part of his weight, while he is raising himself to a standing position.

Thus, the person may not have to have the assistance of a nurse or attendant; he becomes more independent. He can pull the frame into operative position when he needs it and push it out of the way after use.

It may be noted that the generally upright branches 22 and 28 are tilted. They slant left and right respectively as viewed from the front of the device, and they also slant toward the rear of the device. This is the preferred construction, and the purpose is to make the device more stable. With the upper branches 20 and 26 inside the lower branches l8 and 24, there is less chance of the aid tipping while a person is using it to lower himself or raise himself as described above.

The embodiment of FIGS. 5 through 8 is almost identical to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4, the only difference being that in FIGS. 5 through 8, the aid has the connecting means at the front side thereof rather than at the rear side thereof as in FIGS. 1 through 4. Since the two embodiments are nearly identical, the same reference numerals have been used for like parts, and the entire description will not be repeated. It will be seen, however, that the connecting means 34 is welded to the branches l8 and 24 adjacent the corners 58 and 60, the welds being denoted 62 and 64. It may also be noted that the clamps 46' and 48 in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 through 8 are metal screws rather than wing nuts.

In all other respects, the aid 10 of FIGS. 5 through 8 is substantially identical to that of FIGS. 1 through 4, and it may be constructed in substantially the same way. The aid 10 as shown in FIG. 5 is particularly adapted for use with a chair, a commode, or the like. By placing the connecting means 34 at the front of the device, the lower branches 18 and 24 can straddle the seat which in FIG. 5 is a commode 66. A crippled person uses the aid 10 of FIGS. 5 through 8 in exactly the same way as has been described in connection with FIGS. 1 through 4, except that the person does not lie down, so this description will not be repeated.

The invention provides an aid which is particularly helpful to crippled persons in assisting them to stand up or sit down relative to a bed, chair, commode or other seat.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An aid for supporting an invalid during the motion of rising from a sitting position to a standing position relative to a separate seat and in descending from a standing position to a sitting position relative to the seat, the aid being capable of being pulled to operative position by the invalid himself and pushed out of the way after use, said aid comprising a frame having:

a pair of horizontally spaced generally J-shaped legs,

and

means at floor level interconnecting said legs,

said legs each having a horizontal lower branch for resting on the floor, a horizontal upper branch at hand level for a person standing substantially upright and substantially shorter than said lower branch to be grasped by the invalid, and a generally upright branch interconnecting said upper and lower branches,

said upper and lower branches of each leg lying substantially in the same plane and being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the height of said seat,

said interconnecting means extending transversely at floor level between said lower branches, but said legs being free of any other structure so that said legs have an open space between the same in which the person may be received and through which the person may pass while using the aid as aforesaid, and

each of said legs having a front side at which said upright branch is located and an open rear side capable of receiving a seat such as a bed.

2. The aid as claimed in claim 1 in which said upright branches tilt toward each other.

3. The aid as claimed in claim 2 in which said upright branches also tilt toward said rear sides. 

1. An aid for supporting an invalid during the motion of rising from a sitting position to a standing position relative to a separate seat and in descending from a standing position To a sitting position relative to the seat, the aid being capable of being pulled to operative position by the invalid himself and pushed out of the way after use, said aid comprising a frame having: a pair of horizontally spaced generally J-shaped legs, and means at floor level interconnecting said legs, said legs each having a horizontal lower branch for resting on the floor, a horizontal upper branch at hand level for a person standing substantially upright and substantially shorter than said lower branch to be grasped by the invalid, and a generally upright branch interconnecting said upper and lower branches, said upper and lower branches of each leg lying substantially in the same plane and being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the height of said seat, said interconnecting means extending transversely at floor level between said lower branches, but said legs being free of any other structure so that said legs have an open space between the same in which the person may be received and through which the person may pass while using the aid as aforesaid, and each of said legs having a front side at which said upright branch is located and an open rear side capable of receiving a seat such as a bed.
 2. The aid as claimed in claim 1 in which said upright branches tilt toward each other.
 3. The aid as claimed in claim 2 in which said upright branches also tilt toward said rear sides. 